The probe was Ranger 9 and the pictures came directly from the probe as it crashed 1,468 miles (2,363 km) down to the Moon's surface into a crater named Alphonsus.

Ranger 9 had been preceded by Ranger 7 and 8 which had both returned still images of the Moon to Earth, but Ranger 9 was fitted with cameras intended to produce real-time images for a program to US domestic television audiences.

For a short (1 min 20 seconds) taster-video of the event go here (video from nasa.gov, not hosted by theVoiceofReason.com).

This all occurred just a day after the launch of Gemini III which had two astronauts on board - the first time the USA had sent anyone into space.

The astronauts would orbit the earth 3 times before coming back down to earth...